Business Expert and Entrepreneur Blog

Job Hunting Is The WORST…

Isn’t it?

It is a self-confidence crushing endeavor… like worse than Tinder dating.

Here’s why:

The average job posting gets over 250+ emails. Seriously. Isn’t that crazy? Not to mention recruiters get the first resume sent to them within 200 seconds. Oh, and remember Monster, well 427,000 of your fellow job seekers post their resumes weekly. Terrible odds if you ask me.

BUT it doesn’t have to be. Let’s break this down.

Here’s what I realized:

I’ve moved through 6 jobs at 4 companies in ten years, growing my paycheck by around 50-100% with each move. BUT, it didn’t start that way. It never does for any of us. You see when I went after my first job out of college I went to 3 job fairs, sent an ungodly amount of cold emails, bothered all my parent’s friends and just a few weeks from graduating I was about to have some debt but no post-college job to pay for it. I was a chronic interviewee unable to close. So, there I was sending 20 emails a day and lucky to get a human to respond to one of them.

And then after repeating this process job search after job search, I started wondering…why was this whole finding a job thing so impossible?

Once I started to be out there publicly, writing in publications like Forbes and became an employer myself I started to receive email, after DM, after LinkedIn message all saying the same thing.

“All I want to do is work, please hire me.”

“All I want to do is use my skills, how can I get a job like yours?”

“All I want to do is get a job that actually pays, can I pick your brain over coffee?”

And right about when I was going to judge them for the grossness that is the imagery of picking someones brain I remembered something, I had sent all these exact same emails and DMs.

Every time I was doing a job search back in the day mass emailing out my resume, I was committing these same mistakes.

That intrigued me. And then I got my 472nd email asking about how to get a job or for me to jump on a phone call about it. Honestly - I got tired of hearing myself speak about searching and explaining the same process over and over again. BUT I loved seeing the light bulb go off in peoples eyes when they realized it wasn’t impossible it was just persistent. AND I got obsessed when I thought about a world in which every human was spending their talents in pursuit of exactly what they were born to do.

So I wrote this guide for you. Let me tell you WHY you aren’t getting the kind of job you want, WHY recruiters aren’t responding to you… and then HOT TO FIX IT!

The problem is as I looked at all the emails I received it was like an eternal Groundhog Day, I realized…

EVERYONE IS MAKING THESE SAME FATAL MISTAKES.

So for my next hiring search I documented it all. Got all scientific. I gathered the over 123 emails I received in response to my post for one job and read through them all. I talked to all my other CEO friends who hire hundreds of people a year… Suddenly everything made sense.

You see, the resumes were all pretty qualified. The humans were all great I’m sure. But after reading hundreds of potential hires I fell asleep.

Then I figured out why:

EVERYONE’S emails looked EXACTLY like 99.9% of all the other emails job seekers sent to me. And it wasn’t just them when I looked back at my emails I did the same exact mistake:

You see even my old emails sounded and looked EXACTLY like 99% of all the other emails being sent for job searches.

Here’s a few sentences I used:

1) A self-starter

2) Hard worker with a great work ethic

3) Proactive problem solver

4) Meet client needs

5) Dynamic communicator

6) A fast learner

Let’s be honest with yourself, does your email do the same? BECAUSE…

Back to the rest of the emails in my inbox. It was like watching a military parade where you can’t pick out a single human from the mass. Almost every single email contained one of those lines. EVERY SINGLE EMAIL.

The reason you are not getting a job usually has nothing to do with your credentials or whether you were the best applicant.

It’s that via email, you are boring. ;)

You are boring because like most people, you’re terrible at selling yourself via email. We all are naturally. I WAS TOO. Since we don’t realize it we end up doing the same, boring, stale process for MONTHS until we are desperate for any job, anywhere and slowly spiraling into a depression.

After reading, writing, reviewing hundreds of successful job application emails I’ve mastered the game on the template AND THE PROCESS to get the job that you actually want, instead of the one you can get.

It’s so simple we’ve turned it into science…. This template below….

It will teach you how to communicate in an engaging, unique way so that the interviewing process becomes fun and you win!

All of a sudden you have options, and are the one getting recruited.

Let’s be real, if you are a terrible worker with a resume full of grammatical errors and zero follow-through this isn’t going to make you a millionaire, but it will help you:

Get real responses and interviews setup

Let your personality come into your writing

Give you an exact formula to follow for job searching outreach

Teach you my follow-up process that has landed multiple six figure plus jobs

Explain the psychology behind how this all works

When you click you’ll receive a document with all the below:

· A tested and proven email/message template for getting noticed by recruiters

· Tricks to get recruiters to follow-up with you and see what they search on you

· A strategy for closing jobs that may even seem like they are out of your reach

· Tactics to get recruiters seeing you like that purple cow among a bunch of black and whites

Once you have this template recruiters will start responding to your messages and will actually want to meet you… not to mention if you follow the guide they may actually start seeking you out. AKA – no more cold emails HOORAY!

But here’s the catch. We humans unless we pay for something, we don’t value it.

That’s why we keep all those articles in our inbox that we know we should read but WE NEVER read them. SO, the catch is… you need to put your skin in the game. That’s why you got to pay for this one.

Why? Because I want you to actually use it, and we don’t use or value things that do not have value.

Here’s what it is going to do for you.

This template will save you TIME and MONEY. A LOT of it.

Saving you MONEY: The average unemployment period for an American is 20 weeks, that’s 5 months with no paycheck. Since on average we’ve found this process to cut down this hiring process to 30 days. We’re saving you $22k+ if you were paid the average salary in the US. That’s a lot of dinero.

Saving you TIME: Experts say it takes you a month for every $10k in your salary. Sweet lord that’s a lot of months. If you make $100k that means set aside 10, even while working, to find that next 6 figure salary. With this process you can cut your timeline in half.

Remember: Life is too short to live small. This is your chance to aggressively go after what you want in life and follow a proven method to do it.

This is a reprint of the original article I wrote published by business collective here.

It’s tough to ask for what you want — but if you never ask, you’ll never receive.

As an entrepreneur, business builder and corporate ladder climber, I’ve had to get comfortable asking for what I want. It’s rarely given. The tough part is, as humans, we are typically uncomfortable not only in asking for what we want, but also how we ask for what we want. If I had a dime for every time I have been called aggressive, crazy, intense (or worse), I would have a lot of dimes. But I think about my personal motto:

Always ask for what you want. Always.

About 7% of female MBAs attempt to negotiate vs. 57% of men.

Always ask for what you want. Always.

You will hands down never get what you don’t ask for. This is especially true for women and people of minority backgrounds. There is much research that proves that we don’t negotiate enough. If we look at salaries alone, it’s imperative. In Linda Babcock’s book, Women Don’t Ask, she found that about 7% of female MBAs attempted to negotiate, compared to 57% of men from the same program.

Assume you might get it.

When you remove the fear from your ask, you are more thoughtful, you consider how to make it a win-win, and you become less emotional.

Practice Your Pitch

Nothing beats practice. Start small. A perfect example is my most recent trip to Belize: Every time I checked into a hotel, bought an excursion or paid for just about anything, I asked for a discount. What happened? Every single hotel (four over two weeks) upgraded us and gave us anywhere from a 10% to a 30% discount.

Explain Why You Deserve It

Never say, “I want more money.” This rubs me (and many people) the wrong way. When an employee comes to me with this language, I immediately calculate the percentage change they are asking for and say, “What are you doing to earn 35% more money?” Rarely do they have an answer. Often, they didn’t even realize they were asking for such a big percentage increase. Back up your asks with facts and numbers. Say, “I did X, Y and Z and my plan for the coming months is to accomplish this and that. I think the work I am doing is worth more than I am currently making. So, I wanted to talk to you about a pay raise.” Then, don’t say anything. Your manager may be about to let you know you’re going to get a raise higher than your ask.

Tell the why before asking for the what.

Put Yourself in Your Boss’ (Or Counterparty’s) Shoes

What are their goals, and how can you align yours with theirs? If you’ve ever been asked for a raise by an employee, you’d know that there is only so much you can do. How can you put yourself on the other side of the table? When I first negotiated to get time off for an MBA and had my first company out of school pay for it, I started with my small ask first and I aligned our goals.

Your manager may be about to let you know you’re going to get a raise higher than your ask.

I said, “I’m committed to having a long career here and believe I need to better my skills in international business for us to really succeed, so I want to go back to school while working. If I can find a way to do that won’t interfere with getting my job done, and I promise to beat out my goals every single quarter or I’ll quit school, would you be open to it?” He said yes. Then I came back once I got in and said, “If I can get Georgetown to cover X percentage of the cost and beat sales goals by X, would you sponsor me for the rest of my schooling?” He said yes. I was planning on offering a longer contract with the firm as well but I held back. He said “yes” to all my asks.

Don’t Make the First Move

Making your “opponent” like you is worth its weight in gold. Smile, cajole, and appeal to their better instincts. My go-to line is, “You can’t blame a girl for asking, can you?”

If you are negotiating a salary or package with a new gig and the person asks you what you make currently, you don’t need to answer. You can say, “’Well, I’m flexible depending on how you structure compensation for the growth potential and the right company fit long term. Would you be willing to share the rough salary range you have in mind for this position?” If they push you, say, “This is really not something I give out broadly. Kind of like a woman never tells her age. Why don’t you tell me what your range is and I’ll let you know if that fits my range.”

Confidence is everything.

Confidence is everything.

Play Hard to Get

The one who wants it less wins. So even if you want a new job, client or raise so badly you would sell out your mother, pretend you don’t. Say you have a job offer you’re dying to take, and are about to quit your current job anyway. Reframe your mindset. They must negotiate to get the best deal for their company and you must negotiate the best deal for you. You can say, “I’m really happy in my current role and growing immensely. I’m always open to the right opportunity at the right company, but I’m not actively looking.” Remember playing hard to get? In my experience, this increases your perceived value, and makes them want you more.

Remember the commandments and you just might always get what you want.

When people find out what I do, often the first thing they say is, “How did you find a job that allows you to travel the world and do what you want?”

Then they say, “You’re so lucky.”

I answer, "Yes I am."

That said, my answer is always the same: “I didn’t find the job, I created it.”

"I wanted to travel, see the world and make an impact."

When I started my career in finance, I wasn’t incredible. I was quite good but I was not the top performer at my company. I could pitch investors, make sales and perform financial analysis but I was new to finance. But here’s the thing: I didn’t want to spend my life behind a desk. I loved my job, but I wanted to travel, see the world and make an impact.

I found the intersection of talent. I wasn’t No. 1 in the world at one thing but I was very good at several, including finance, sales and speaking Spanish. I realized that I didn’t have to be the 1% because I had something better: a unique combination of skills that no one else had. I call this my leverage point.

I found where my average talents connected to make them unique.

Instead of quitting my job, I put together a business proposal for my boss at the time and said, “Look, I think there are investment opportunities in Latin America that we are missing out on. I want to take see if I can create business for our company down there.”

He was intrigued and gave me the go-ahead. When that first trip was successful, I asked for a month-long second trip. I extended that to two months, then six months. Finally, I proposed that we create a new position for me that would allow me to travel Latin America as much as I wanted, creating business and investment opportunities for my company and only paying me if they worked.

You may be thinking, “Hey that’s great for you, but my job isn’t remote.” Neither was mine until I proved that I could add value. Here’s how you can take your career on the road without taking a pay cut. Sound good?

Make a list of two or three talents to combine and use them as your leverage point.

Find Your Leverage Point

Make a list of what you are good at. What two or three talents can you combine to use as your leverage point? Remember, you don’t have to be the world’s expert or even the most exceptional person at your company. It might be the fact that you have both technical skills and human resources qualifications so you can travel to overseas manufacturing plants for quality assurance and safety procedures. Maybe you are a writer and a business analyst and you can travel to clients and potential clients and create clear reports that describe what is happening there to your home office. The possibilities are endless because your leverage point is not based on a single skill but on a combination of several.

Trust yourself. You know more than you think you do.

— Benjamin Spock

Do The Research

Once I found my leverage point, I began researching opportunities in Latin America. Latinos are the fastest-growing demographic in the U.S., meaning there are a lot of ties between U.S. and Latin American businesses. NAFTA and other free trade agreements, micromills and proximity to distribution mean that businesses are turning to Latin America instead of Asia for manufacturing. Plus, the growing startup scene in places like Chile, Mexico, Argentina and Brazil makes these countries a fertile playground. Go to Google, subscribe to the top newsletters on your area of interest, look at what your competitor firms are doing in the region and pretend like you are writing an article on the opportunity. Think like a journalist. Gather data.

The hardest step to take is always the first one. The rest build momentum like a snowball downhill. 

Make The Pitch

Once you have your leverage point and your data, make the pitch. Show them that you can bring more value to the company on the road. Ask for a trial run to prove yourself, a short trip with a specific purpose. And one last thing: Don’t ask for a higher salary. That will come after you have proved your value in this new role. Besides, you are about to start your dream job traveling the world. And you just got your company to pay for it. What more could you want?

The hardest step to take is always the first one.

The rest build momentum like a snowball downhill. Your goal here is to self-assess to find your leverage point, externally assess to find your supporting research and finally turn those two into a win-win case for you and your employer. Remember above all else, most people who have built incredible lives created them. They weren’t given them. That means all that stands between you and the life you want is yourself.

Remember when business retreats used to mean holing up in a Marriott or going on a corporate outing? I'm going to let you in on a little secret: Those days are over. Millennials will make up 75 percent of the workforce by 2025, and they aren't satisfied with the status quo of older generations. With fast and affordable travel and a globalized economy, today's workforce is interested in experiences and adventures, not cocktails in the hotel lobby.

If I don't have your attention yet, these facts should help. Unemployment is at 4.1 percent, the lowest it has been in 17 years. Sixty-eight percent of all human resources heads say that talent shortage for full-time positions is one of the biggest challenges they are facing. What does this mean? It means that if you want to attract and keep talent, you need to differentiate yourself. Changing the way your company travels might be just what you need.

Millennials will make up 75 percent of the workforce by 2025, and they aren’t satisfied with the status quo of older generations. 

Creating New Experiences

A friend of mine told me a story that illustrates this perfectly. On a recent trip to Mexico City, his six-person consulting team shared an Airbnb rental in a trendy part of the city instead of paying for hotel rooms. In the evening, they hung out in the shared space of the high-rise apartment and sampled street food from the markets. Some members of his team extended their stay for the weekend and explored other parts of the country on their own. This unique bonding experience led them to an innovative breakthrough with their client and a pivot in the direction he took his business.

This unique bonding experience led them to an innovative breakthrough with their client and a pivot in the direction he took his business.

Have passport will travel.

They aren't the only ones. My teams have been known to fly to Mexico, where they take boxing lessons in the evenings and tour our clients' construction sites during the daytime. We even made a trip over to Valle de Bravo for a sailing competition. We may have lost that competition to the point of near embarrassment, but we got to know our clients personally and our team made the kind of memories that families share.

Making Your Company Look Good

What do these trends mean for you and your company? It's time to think outside the box. When you begin planning your next business retreat, mid-year meeting or stakeholder conference, go for something different. For less than you would spend to take your team to a resort in Palm Springs, California, you can share in an international experience while improving employee retention.

Currency arbitrage

Desitinations half the price, double the bonding.

In other words, this is an easy way to make your company more attractive and earn bragging rights in your industry. After all, who doesn't want to be known as the company that takes vacations abroad? According to The Boston Consulting Group, companies that don't reach out to millennials today, risk missing the boat as they become the core producers and consumers in our society.

Planning a Company Trip

Planning a company getaway to another country might be intimidating for the decision makers at your firm. That's why I recommend using one of the many travel-planning services that have popped up recently. Remember to price check and make sure the company you choose offers the type of experience you are looking for.

 When you get back to the office after a well-planned trip, expect to see better communication, increased efficiency and lower employee turnover.

— Codie Sanchez

One of my favorites tools for planning is Mezi. Think of it as a free, personal-travel virtual assistant. They take trips from a twinkle in my perpetually wanderlust-inclined eye to reality by booking everything from outings, restaurants, hotels and flights -- and ensure my team gets the best deals. And a couple services that I've researched and would like to try myself include Digital Outposts, which specializes in "workcations" from two weeks to two months long, and Surf Office -- a beachfront workspace that can accommodate up to 80 people.

"I prefer Latin America..."

Then again, I'm a wee bit biased.

As for where to go, I prefer Latin America. You can find everything you need for a successful corporate outing at a great price. If you're looking for an authentic cultural experience, you can't beat it for its exotic food, fantastic music and friendly locals.

In my experience, people who travel and seek out new adventures are more innovative. And, often, when innovation grows among your employees, so does your bottom line. 

In the end, hosting your company retreat is about innovating your company's culture. When you get back to the office after a well-planned trip, expect to see better communication, increased efficiency and lower employee turnover.

Still not convinced? I'll leave you with this. In my experience, people who travel and seek out new adventures are more innovative. And, often, when innovation grows among your employees, so does your bottom line.

So it's not a question of, "Can I afford to take my team overseas?"

It's a question of, "Can I afford not to?"

xoxo,

Codie

Luck Favors the Bold

Go big...

Don't Just Go Without, Wait!

Your Mic Drop Moment: How to Give a Talk to Remember

EXCERPT FROM FORBES ARTICLE I wrote: On April 21, 2016, while running along Lake Michigan after having one of those days, in between the sweat and a tear or two, I decided that I had a voice and I wanted to use it. I wanted to stand on stage and move people with my words.

"I decided I wanted to speak publicly, often and powerfully. This was a new feeling for me. They say public speaking is a bigger fear than death for most people"

I've always spoken inside of my companies, but have never spoken for a living. I'm a former journalist and always had the entrepreneurial bent that led to stages. On this day, I decided I wanted to speak publicly, often and powerfully. This was a new feeling for me. They say public speaking is a bigger fear than death for most people, and I was most people.

Earlier, an industry colleague had told me it was better than some people listen and not speak. Everyone in the room knew he meant me. I was too shocked to reply as snickers resounded. While I allowed myself to wallow in it for a moment my initial feelings of hurt turned to purpose. I decided to respond with, "All right, buddy. Just you watch me."

I've been studying the language of public persuasion. For the last 515 days, I've been gathering intel on how the best of the best ensnare people with their words. I've given 83 speeches on a variety of subjects across the states and the Americas. I've made more mistakes in videos, live interviews, podcasts, radio shows, red carpets (that was an awkward one) and television shows than I’d like to admit. And I have practiced.

"I was spending too much time perfectly writing out what to say and then alternatively not enough time practicing. This is a killer."

The No. 1 mistake I made initially was obsessing over my PowerPoint and script. I was spending too much time perfectly writing out what to say and then alternatively not enough time practicing. This is a killer. My process now is to outline the presentation, know the seed I want to plant in the audience's minds, write out the entire speech, then create a PowerPoint with pictures to trigger my memory, all as rapid-fire as possible.

I record myself giving the full presentation three-to-five times before I go live without notes. If I can't do it without messing up, I go back to practicing. Just because it's written does not mean it's deliverable. It is much better to have a scantily prepared PowerPoint than to have a scantily prepared speech.

"Keep your focus and don't allow niceties to distract you from your goal. You're there to perform; not for small talk."

Give Yourself Space Prior

Almost every expert in every industry takes time in solitude prior to performing. There is a calming factor in rituals. Think about baseball players and how they step up to the plate, hit their feet with the bat and then zone in. Rafael Nadal's tennis pre-ritual is worth a chuckle and a watch.

The moral of the story is, don't feel bad for saying, "I like to have a few minutes of solitude prior to speaking." Keep your focus and don't allow niceties to distract you from your goal. You're there to perform; not for small talk.

I don't memorize an entire speech -- ever. I layer my stories together. These are stories I have lived, read or used so many times that I could tell them in my sleep. This allows me to not only show my humanity and vulnerability, but tell a story in a way that feels like I’m talking to you in your living room, in our pajamas. I keep an Evernote of all of these snapshots of time, where just the title is a trigger for me to remember. For example, I know from these few words below where I want to go in my presentation. Can you come up with a similar list you can turn to again and again?

• The moment they told me "no" (when I was convinced to follow my "why")

• Doing the hard thing anyway (when I made my biggest, most painful life pivot)

"These days, we live in a world of 140 characters or fewer. Give the people what they want. "

Nail The Tweetable Moments

These days, we live in a world of 140 characters or fewer. Give the people what they want. What are those delicious little tidbits that your audience will hang on? Where can you insert soundbites that if they are delivered properly, absolutely send home your message? Then focus on landing those bad boys. I find that I weave the following one-liners in consistently. I believe them and I believe that the average person must hear something seven times before they remember it.

• "The few who do, not the many who speak."

• "If you do what the average person does, you will be as the average person is...average."

• "Surround yourself with those who feed your wild soul."

"The goal is akin to a movie or an Instagram scroll; you grab people’s attention through a sea of sameness."

Create Bold PowerPoints

I like PowerPoints for their visual effect and use as a trigger for my memory. However, my PowerPoints have a word or two, maybe a photo or at most one graph on them. The goal is akin to a movie or an Instagram scroll; you grab people’s attention through a sea of sameness. I rotate back and forth between using more malleable versions of the PechaKucha Method (essentially showing 20 slides each for 20 seconds) or the Lessig Method(showing simplistic slides with one word or image on them). It’s common sense but not common practice. Please don’t read off your slides, my friends.

Almost a year ago I walked into a crowded cramped little cabin of a cruise ship for Summit at Sea, (think a young entrepreneurial invite only version of Davos and Burning Man all in one), and I stumbled upon a shining light of energy inside a tiny little body. That light was Neeta Bhushan.

Neeta is a best-selling author of Emotional Grit, a PhD in psychology and medicine, an international speaker renowned across Asia and India, has spoken at the likes of Google and Facebook, and is one of the key members of A-Fest (a grouping of global change makers with her life partner Ajit). She specializes in helping leaders develop emotional intelligence or as she calls it, “Emotional Grit,” as well as is in the midst of a new world speaking and event tour called Boundless.

On this podcast, Neeta and I get personal with it. You see she, like so many of us, had to go through a real trial to achieve greatness. She talks about her first marriage to an abusive spouse, to living in her car, to leaving it all behind to start afresh, to pushing past cultural norms as a self-identified “brown girl.”

We talk about how she creates a powerful relationship and success for each of them, how she travels the world while running a major business and non-profit, and the life lessons she wishes she had learned earlier. Neeta was a key trigger and drive in my life at a time that I truly needed it, I hope that you allow her to trigger you too.

Neeta was a key trigger and drive in my life at a time that I truly needed it, I hope that you allow her to trigger you too.

While it's hard to pick a favorite.. I did. Here is my small, succinct but if you sit on it, absolute favorite quote from Neeta:

Is what you’re doing really worth it?

Take a moment, put in your headphones, sit back, relax, and get ready for a ride.

Love you animals,

Codie

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"And how butterfingers are the key to happiness…"

Real talk. I haven’t laughed this hard or wanted to steal so many one liners on the podcast before. I really shouldn’t be surprised because my guest is SamParr, CEO & Founder of TheHustle.co. Sam is just about as quirky, funny, and strangely poignant as his site and newsletter.

I mean what can you expect from a dude who went from owning a hot dog company in Nashville, with commentary such as, “if you can sell meat on the street to strangers something good is going on,” to running a site with over 200k subscribers and millions of people frequenting his website.

It all started for him with HustleCon. A conference he created after he had sold one of his startups in Silicon Valley and was looking to surround himself with the smartest of the smart by hosting an event chock full of them. Maybe stimulating his next idea or two. He figured he’d lose some money, but gain a killer network. Turns out he got both. He made $60k on HustleCon, and a few years down the road they make a heck of a lot more than that and have thousands of attendees listening to hundreds of striving weirdos (my favorite types of humans).

We get into how Sam has systematically cultivated a Zero F’s attitude, the one piece of advice he gives to all salespeople, the thing he thinks we will look back on in 20 years and be amazed by, as well as what he tells himself when he is told, "No, you can't."

Spoiler: "Is it impossible according to the laws of physics? Hmm.. then watch me."

--> You can sign up for the newsletter here... and you're welcome in advance.

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Portuguese in 3 Months: Yup.

Goal: I want my nickname to be Codie the Carioca

They call people from Rio Carioca's. #funfact

So the real goal is: Portuguese Fluent (B2 level proficiency) in three months. If you think I'm crazy, you might be right. But I also am impatient and have used this same strategy with Spanish and shared it with dozens of others who have used it to gain fluency without the pain of highschool Spanish re-runs.

Timeline: 13 weeks - To small bathing suits & coconuts

Before I engage in any activity I also start with the why behind it. Let's face it big goals are hard to accomplish. It's easy to push them off and even easier to start and quit. If you don't remember why it is so important to you to learn you never well.

And then you'll wake up one day and life will have passed you by. And so will Rio.

So my why is:

Why: I want to push my mind to grow in all ways, I want to open the world of opportunities, cultural experiences, insights into local countries, get over my fear of speaking poorly, increase my brain function and retention.

Ultimately I want to be trilingual because that sounds PDR: Pretty Damn Rad.

FUN FACT FOR YOU: Every single step I have in this guide, works for every language. It's how I learned Spanish and now run an international business in Latin America in 3 months. And I have the memory of a Goldfish. If I can do it, you can too.

It’s how I learned Spanish and now run an international business in Latin America in 3 months. And I have the memory of a Goldfish. If I can do it, you can too. 

Daily Actions, Tasks and Resources

✓Learn most frequent words first (around 200-500) - use Anki (app) for most frequent words flashcards.

✓Cognates search and memorize - To find common words with the language you are learning, simply search for “[language name] cognates” or “[language name] English words."

If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his own language, that goes to his heart.

— Nelson Mandela

THIS ONE IS IMPORTANT:

✓Have a list of topics you would like to discuss and bring them up. For example: your hobbies, hopes for the future, dislikes, what you will do on your vacation, how to pick up chicks, no judgement.

IF you don't pick your topics...

They are going to make you talk about groceries and dogs and cats and things that honestly I glaze over even pondering in English. Keep it relevant, fun and keep yourself awake for the love of all the is holy.

The more fun you can make this exercise, the better. I go to a cafe that's beautiful while I learn. I treat myself to an amazing coffee and dessert. I dress up for it and meander around afterward.

1 - readlang.com - this website lets you read papers, articles and stories in different languages. The best part is if you don't know a word or phrase you can click on it and it will give you the translation. You can then put that phrase into a notecard to be reviewed later.

2 - memrise.com - a site that I think is better than duolingo, gives you similar exercises but they are not all rudimentary like duolingo.

3 - fluentu.com - takes real world music videos, commericals, etc and turns them into learning exercises, lets you learn REAL WORLD language skills, not old outdated phrases.

Peter Drucker says what gets measured gets managed. I believe him. So I write out my goals and then I track them on my Way of Life App.

💡 I will speak the language daily

💡 I will read study and watch Portuguese daily

💡 I will write Portuguese daily

Game Plan: (2 hours daily): That was my plan, the reality is that one hour is more reasonable for me.

🏆 One hour Italki call 5x a week

🏆 Duolingo Daily for 3 lessons.

🏆 Rotate in one additional activity daily -aka flashcards, general phrases, listen or watch movie in it (dealers choice)

🏆 Track in wayoflifeapp

Varying Actions I Can Take:

One hour italki call daily

Do Duolingo daily

Use Anki for most common words

Listen to Brazilian news, podcasts, movies etc

Learn and use most general phrases link

Use BBC, foreign service or about posts to learn

Explore the culture through activities

Commit two hours a day to Portuguese

Read the books given to me in Portuguese

Use Learn Portuguese for Spanish speakers book

Write daily Portuguese journal

How to Measure Success:

☞ Carry on a conversation with a stranger related to introduction, who am I, how is my day going, where am I from, what do I do, how do I like Brazil, and ask them the same questions. Not rocket science but if I can do that I feel comfortable in a language.

☞ Take the TOEFL exam and hit an intermediate proficiency level. This one is for you animals like me, you status quo breakers. This ain't an easy test. Good for you if you go after it.

Reward:

Sticks and carrots are very powerful tools. If I'm going to work hard at something I like to treat myself afterwards so I plan on doing just that!

🇧🇷If I follow the game plan and hit goals by my end date and I will go to carnival and dance samba on a float.🇧🇷

NO BIG DEAL... this WILL BE ME.

I'm amazed at what we all can accomplish when we set a goal, quantify it, use the resources available to us and stick it out on average for 30, 60 to 90 days.

Wait! Don't Miss Out!

Office chair redefined... p.s. all these clothes are thanks to PrAna. Get you some.

Getting Lost to Get Found

I have a belief that if you follow your adventure while traveling, you’ll find yourself and perhaps, make money while you do it. That's why I partnered with PrAna to dig deeper into consciously consuming around this beautiful world of ours (see me sporting all their lovely threads!). You see, I’m an Adventure Capitalist at heart. What is that? It’s that roaming soul who follows their adventure to create an opportunity for themselves and others. It’s the explorer who looks at the world around them and is brimming with questions. It’s the human that when they see opportunity, they seize it. I first discovered it with Jim Rogers book of the same name.

Us adventure capitalists, we’re the wanderers, the curious, the Magellan’s who don’t travel to escape but to create.

We consume and create consciously, focusing on that intersection of passion, profit, and purpose. Many don’t know it yet, but we are the next generation. If you’re one of my tribe of creators, or just curious about how to become one and release that inner wild soul of yours, let me take you on a journey.

We consume and create consciously, focusing on that intersection of passion, profit and purpose. 

My story started years ago as a journalist along the US/Mexico border (you can view my video here) where I got lost to ultimately get found. It continued through finance and corporate America, but it accelerated the moment that I stopped playing by the rules. It took off the moment I focused on becoming a healthier, happier, well-traveled, more interesting human and applying those lessons to business and lifestyle design. That decision to be my crazy self despite the rules led me to understand finance, international business and how to make the globe my office. It led me to the belief that how I consume, create, and cultivate teams and relationships are the most important things I can ever focus upon.

You see I used to have many days spent watching the clock, getting a case of the Monday dreads on Sunday afternoon, counting the days to Friday and otherwise having steady anxiety about my job. Because I used to think that in order to be truly successful you had better bide your time, climb along with everyone else, and maybe even had to wear matching business suits. The horror.

Then one day I picked up The Four Hour Work Week, like so many other young millennials. I read it cover to cover, then I read The Hard Thing About Hard Things, then I read Man’s Search for Himself. And what happened after blending this idea of working to produce, not to log time, with how to build a company, with why it all matters, and finally with how to find yourself, led me to follow my adventure. I left my gig at Goldman Sachs at the time and started traveling for a living in the world of international investments across the Americas. I found this niche that fit me. Emerging economies that necessitated speaking Spanish, where my unique experiences created an edge, and where opportunity abounds because it is just a bit more chaotic than the U.S.

Have Passport

WILL TRAVEL... ALWAYS

So I started traveling south, almost weekly. I explored countries like Chile, Colombia, Peru, Brazil, Mexico, Panama, Argentina, and Paraguay to name a few. I was hooked. I realized how you can feasibly make the world your office, can adventure consciously, make money while traveling and then consume so much more thoughtfully.

It’s why I partner with companies like PrAna, certainly because I love their sustainable, killer active lifestyle clothing (plus they have their HQ in my second home Carlsbad!), but also because they walk my kind of talk. See it here. With motto’s like “OUR MISSION IS TO INSPIRE HEALTHY, ACTIVE, AND FREE-SPIRITED LIVING,”

Or how they write stories about… “Far off places, inspiring people, and tales that need telling,” what is not to be intrigued by.

So if you are with me, if a bit of wanderlust flows through your veins, the question becomes how do you create a life yourself that follows your adventure? When I realized this, my adventure truly began…

Us adventure capitalists, we’re the wanderers, the curious, the Magellan’s who don’t travel to escape, but to create. 

When I Found the Travel Secret:

Start with WHY it matters at all..The secret is that exploring is as crucial to our evolution beyond primates and past the unrealized 80%, as water is to a plant, or as tequila is to my personal sanity. It's a tactile education that opens your eyes, your ears, your soul to all the possibilities inherent in the world. If you can internalize the resounding belief that your adventures further your education, you are on the path.

My suggestion: Read the book Walden. Opens your eyes to the beauty of travel.

Learn the Solo Routine:

“What do you mean you are going to Patagonia by yourself?” just about everyone questioned me. I would reiterate, “I am going by myself because I want to. I'm just heading down south and seeing where it takes me. No itinerary and probably the wrong shoes.”

To which at the end of this conversation most people say, “Be safe,” and promptly switch topics. Here's the thing I'm 30, not 22. Solo international travel is utterly questionable to most people, especially considering I have a relatively high-powered job, familial obligations and then throw on that I travel almost weekly regardless. However, the truth is, if you don't go now you just may never go.

My suggestion: Plan a solo getaway. Could be nothing more lavish than a road trip. Travel courage is a muscle, you just need to flex it.

The man who goes alone can start today, but he who travels with another must wait till that other is ready.

— Henry David Thoreau.

When the Inevitable Moment Comes SEIZE IT:

Seizing every opportunity in my life is one of the key reasons I've been successful, in a slightly less horrifyingly caricature of Jim Carey in the movie Yes Man, (where he says yes to everything). I do try to take on as many experiences as humanly possible. Carpe Diem may have become a cliché but it became one for a reason, we so very seldom do in fact seize the day. Instead, one day rolls into the next until we look back and exclaim where did the years go? In this way, we fantasize about the future and what we will do with it while putting off today what we will supposedly do tomorrow.

My suggestion: Start with waking up an hour before you normally do. Get work in early and learn to produce at level that is above those around you, freedom is given to those that produce.

Your Job Title Is Not Sit At Desk All Day Associate

I want you to ask you a question; are you paid specifically to be present at your desk from 9-to-5? Is your job title, “On Location for 8 Hours Associate”? For most, I doubt it. Your job is related to what you do not how long it takes you to do it. If my team can do in 4 hours what the other teams do in 8, all the better. The rest of the time should be theirs to grow, engage and become better humans. The problem is we need to get your bosses, or if you own your own business yourself, to understand this, and set measurable goals to get the job done while not requiring your entire life be spent doing it. So can you realize that your biggest opponent is yourself? That you haven’t tried to ask the question of, HOW can I become a nomadic capitalist?

My suggestion: Go to your whiteboard. Or buy one if you don't have one. Write on there how could I travel more and earn money while doing it? Write up as many solutions as possible. See what happens when you start testing them. But be ready, once you take the red pill... you'll never go back.

Consume More Consciously

Unless you're hiding a trust fund like Trump, travel may be something that seems to be for those lucky few without real responsibilities. If you are feeling like you don't have the time, the money, the opportunity, start adding by subtracting. So that means we buy less, better things. That next graphic tee you see, skip it. Invest in conscious pieces, reduce, reuse, recycle your wardrobe and your wallet.

My suggestion: Go to your closet. What in there can you sell online on ebay? Repeat with every room in your house. Money is literally surrounding you. Start making room in your wallet and in your space to allow in the new. AND try a spending hiatus. I like to think of this like a juice cleanse. Before you buy anything you have to wait 24 hours to pull the trigger. It's amazing how many small dimes will accumulate.

Travel Purposefully

I travel every week. However, I cannot remember the last time I took a trip and didn't incorporate work into it. AND I love that. We aren't talking the kind of work you gouge eyes out over, we are talking playing for a living. Before I took my last two-week trip to Belize here is my list of how I maximized travel so I can do more of it (now you can too):

I reached out to every single hotel to ask for discounts. I got one at every hotel.

I reached out to brands/hotels to see if they would sponsor parts of it in exchange for content.

I got up at 6am every day on vacation and worked the first two hours to fund it. Emails & coconuts baby.

Setup meetings with 3 people I found interesting and that I could potentially collaborate with in country. Email is so powerful.

I'm a points savage. I use them everywhere and accumulate thoughtfully.

Just a short few years ago Nathan Chan (@foundr) was a young 20 something fixing computers in the IT department in corporate cubicle land. Then something happened that made him say never again. A moment, and a collection of moments compounded, changed everything. Now Nathan is the CEO and Founder of the aptly named Foundr online magazine, he’s amassed millions of listeners and followers, built a business with revenues above 7 figures and as you can imagine, probably now has a dude to fix his computers.

So what’s Foundr and what’s the big deal about that? Well, as we were recording this podcast Nathan had just returned from interviewing Tony Robbins in NY. That’s kind of a like a typical Tuesday for Nathan. He’s a humble sort of bloke, so I’m sure he’s reading this and eye rolling at my pontification, however you guys tell me what you think. His first interview was with Sir Richard Branson and the cover of his magazines has been graced by names like Arianna Huffington, Gary Vaynerchuck, Marie Forleo, Daymond John, Seth Godin, Tim Ferriss just to name a few. So let’s just say he plays with some big fish.

Cool for Nathan, but how is that useful for you? On this podcast Nathan gave me the green light to ask him some questions he’d never been asked before. We dig into the moments he, just like all of us, was told NO. That he wasn’t enough, that he couldn’t, that it wasn’t impossible but for him it was. We talk about how he overcame those moments. He gives us his recipe for how to get in front of big names and absolutely what NOT to do when reaching out to just about anyone. Some of my favorite moments are at the very end where we get into where he would escape if convicted of a hideous crime, and his biggest mistakes.

I hope you have a nice adult beverage, snuggled up somewhere and ready to listen to our conversation ripe with questions not appropriate for the dinner table.